Basically this is the card, why you want to mulligan for some aoe removals when facing paladin decks :) It is a very strong card indeed, but the fact that you can sort of expect it from every paladin deck, makes it not overpowered, Surely when played in combination with a quartermaster, it can lose you your game. So dont use up your aoe's if not necessary, before the paladins use at least 1 of this card.

The issue is that this is almost impossible to counter efficiently, and just shuts down the early game too much.

It'd still be a decent card at two recruits instead of three, and still control the early game decently enough I think.

Though it wouldn't be an issue if cards like Equality didn't make small minions so dangerous to leave alive for Paladins - and there's the potential Silver Hand recruit plays to contend with of course.